


Play Well - Put Together

by Denois



Series: AU August 2018 [5]
Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst with a Happy Ending, Human Legos, Legos, M/M, Minor Eric Bittle/Jack Zimmermann, Mutual Pining, Soulmates, maxifigs, minifigs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-03
Updated: 2018-09-03
Packaged: 2019-07-06 12:45:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,688
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15886335
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Denois/pseuds/Denois
Summary: Years ago, it was dolls. Dex’s grandmother had told him stories about meeting her soulmate and seeing him as a rag doll. Now, most people saw LEGO minifigs. Except, not so mini. There was a period where people reported their soulmates appearing as Pop Vinyls, and if Dex had to chose, he’d rather have the mini(maxi?)fig. But Dex hadn’t really thought about it until he went to tour Samwell and had a piece of plastic tell him to chill.





	Play Well - Put Together

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to [Lukutoukka](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lukutoukka) for the beta.
> 
> Thank you to Lukutoukka, B_Frizzy, and Theo for supporting and encouraging my goal to come up with the most unusual and off-the-wall soulmate AUs I possibly can.
> 
> I came up with this in August so I'm counting it as part of AU August.
> 
> Title from the meanings behind the name LEGO.

Years ago, it was dolls. Dex’s grandmother had told him stories about meeting her soulmate and seeing him as a rag doll. Now, most people saw LEGO minifigs. Except, not so mini. There was a period where people reported their soulmates appearing as Pop Vinyls, and if Dex had to chose, he’d rather have the mini(maxi?)fig. But Dex hadn’t really thought about it until he went to tour Samwell and had a piece of plastic tell him to chill.

Dex started to wonder about the fact his grandmother never actually said the rag doll was his grandfather. He wondered idly if she were to meet the man again if he’d still appear as a doll or if he’d be a maxifig now too.

* * *

Nursey was ticked off, but he shoved that down and reached for Chill. It was just his luck that he finally met someone that looks like a square chunk of plastic and the first thing the plastic man says in his presence is that he thought hockey players shouldn’t be good at baking. Combine that with the generic LEGO yellow, and Nursey was not impressed. 

Whatever. It wasn’t like not forming the bond would affect either of them in their lives ever. So what he said was, “Chill, bro.”

He had not realized that plastic could look that angry. 

Chris told him that the guy was planning on signing with a state school, so he felt pretty confident that the whole soulmate situation could be safely ignored and he was free to attend Samwell.

That thought got him through the summer before college. Right up until he got to campus and saw the damn plastic again. 

His veneer of chill nearly disappeared completely when the coaches paired them up on the ice. The good news was that the guy being a hunk of plastic was only in his mind. Everyone else still saw him as himself and he still skated like himself, just like Nursey was still himself and skated like himself. 

They could play just fine and no one else even knew they were seeing their partner as maxifigs. Because Dex hadn’t told anyone and Nursey was willing to ignore it as well.

* * *

Getting to know Nursey did not make him less irritating. Dex could tell he was attractive by the way people threw themselves at him. He could tell that Nursey didn’t want to be his soulmate by the way he acted. 

Dex couldn’t blame him. He knew he was abrasive. He knew he didn’t do social interactions right. He knew he said things and his meaning was lost somewhere between his brain and other people’s ears. He knew people that did see him as human didn’t throw themselves at him. 

It would have been easy to do the math even if he hadn’t tested out of two semesters of engineering calculus.

Dex knew the antagonism was on purpose. He knew how smart and thoughtful (and obnoxious and scatterbrained and abstract) Nursey could be. Nursey pushed back when Dex was stubborn, refused to let him sink into his worry spirals, goaded him when he was prickly.

So, it was fine. Nursey didn’t want to be his soulmate. Nursey was out of his league. And Nursey was absolutely everything Dex had ever wanted in a boyfriend. 

Everything was fine. 

* * *

Everything was horrible.

For a month, two months, things went exactly how Nursey thought they would. He and Dex fought, constantly. Dex said bullshit things, Nursey called him on it, and they fought. Dex insisted his words were being taken in ways he didn’t mean. Nursey informed him that intent didn’t mean shit compared to impact.

And….

Dex actually adjusted and seemed to try to do better.

He was still really prickly about money.

But….

Maybe Nursey should actually consider that there are axes of oppression where he had privilege. And even though it didn’t negate the racism and other shit he faces, it did mean that there is shit he didn’t have to deal with and maybe he could stand to be little more cognizant of that. 

As Shitty would say “If your feminism isn’t intersectional, then what are you even fucking doing, bro?”

So, they got closer. They became almost friendly. Nursey felt his insults lose their barbs, becoming chirps. Eventually, they even became flirtatious, not that he’d ever admit that outside of his deepest, darkest, late night thoughts. 

Maybe he meant it when he told Dex that he was free to skype him anytime.

* * *

Nursey was being friendly now. Sometimes, if Dex didn’t know better, he’d think that Nursey was flirting with him. He was handsy. 

It was driving Dex to distraction.

Literally.

He always had a hard time focusing and now it was worse. The only thing he could focus on was Nursey, and that was completely unintentional. 

It was just his bad luck to fall in love with his soulmate.

And he was in so deep that he was imagining that Nursey felt the same when he knew, _knew_ , that Nursey wanted nothing to do with him. 

Dex wasn’t sure what the worst part was, that he in love with a man he’d never even seen as a human, or that when Nursey finally left him he wouldn’t even have a face for him in his memories. 

So, he buried himself in homework, his work placement, fixing things around the Haus, and hockey. He made it through the entire year, passed all his classes, they almost won the frozen four. He installed a new oven that Jack got for Bitty. 

And maybe he got a little wistful at the party. 

When everyone was busy celebrating with Bitty, Dex grabbed a beer and slipped out to the back porch. He sat down and rested his head against the side of the Haus. He was pretty sure that Jack and Bitty were soulmates and hadn’t formed the bond yet. He was also pretty sure that they both wanted to once they figured everything out. 

Which put them light years ahead of him. 

He let out a bitter laugh and closed his eyes. 

“What’s so funny, Dexter?”

Nursey’s voice intruded on his thoughts, snapping him back to the present.

“Just admiring the irony.” Dex opened his eyes and took another sip of his beer.

“Irony? That’s a pretty fancy word for a computer guy.” Nursey settled next to him and took a drink of his own beer. “Is this real irony, or Alanis Morrissette irony?”

“Real irony, I think.” Dex lifted a hand in acknowledgement. “But I am just a computer guy.”

“So, tell me. What’s so ironic?”

Dex laughed a bit again and tilted his head. “Pretty sure we just helped a couple of soulmates get closer to their bond.” 

“And that’s ironic?”

Dex wanted to turn and look at him, but he refrained. “Come on Nurse. You know why.”

“Ah. Something’s been bugging me about that actually. Is it the fact I’m a guy? Because other guys have said I’m pretty enough it didn’t matter.”

Dex snorted. “You realize you look like a hunk of yellow plastic to me, right?”

“Really? I thought it just used that for default white. Huh.” 

“Nope. No default race with soulmates. Everyone’s LEGO yellow.” Dex took a long drink of his beer. “I did know that you’re black. Various comments here and there, guys from other teams on the ice.” He grimaced and rolled his shoulders. 

“Oh. Is- nevermind.” Nursey tensed beside him. Which was really weird from Dex’s perspective.

“I also know that you’re attractive. I’ve seen how many people throw themselves at you. Some even go after you over Ransom and he’s the most beautiful man I’ve ever seen and that includes celebrities.” Dex tilted his beer towards Nursey. “And you’re about five years too late for my gay awakening.”

Nursey’s beer slipped from his fingers and poured over both their legs. “Oh fuck. Shit. I’m sorry.” Nursey grabbed for the bottle and after fumbling for a few seconds before getting it righted and Dex rolled his eyes.

“Whatever. Not like I cared about these jeans anyway.” 

“What the fuck did you mean about your gay awakening? You’re straight!” Nursey backhanded Dex’s shoulder and Dex grunted.

“Nope. You all just assumed that while giving me lectures about the dangers of heteronormativity. Hey! More irony.” Dex took another long pull from his bottle. 

“Then… why don’t you want to be my soulmate?” Nursey’s voice sounded smaller than Dex had ever heard it. Which really made no sense.

“Not gonna stick you with me for life. Even I’m not that much of an asshole.” Dex couldn’t believe that Nursey was making him explain why Nursey didn’t want him. As though he hadn’t made it clear for a year. “It’s whatever. Soulmates are probably overrated anyway, right?” 

* * *

Nurse was not slow on the uptake. Usually. But nothing that Dex was saying was making sense. 

“So, you think I don’t want to be stuck with you.” 

Dex snorted again. “I’m not stupid. And you were pretty obvious.”

“Not obvious enough.” Nursey swallowed and straightened his shoulders. Then he leaned over and pressed his lips to the cool plastic lips of the man beside him. 

And then he was kissing warm, slightly chapped lips. He pulled back and opened his eyes. 

Oh shit, Dex was hot. 

Dex’s eyes fluttered open as well and he stared at Nursey for a few seconds. 

“I’m sorry. Was that not okay? I thought- It’s just. It’s seemed like, maybe, that you wanted it too?” Nursey pulled back, cursing himself for forcing a soul bond on someone that didn’t want it. There had to be a way to undo it, right?

Dex’s hand grabbed his shoulders and pulled him back as Dex leaned forward and pressed their lips together again, tilting his head and opening his lips to brush the hint of his tongue over Nursey’s lips before pulling back ever so slightly. “Correction. Ransom is the second most beautiful man I’ve ever seen.”

Nursey allowed his arms to slide around Dex’s neck and pull him back in for another kiss.

**Author's Note:**

> Dex may have fought some guys for saying shit. 
> 
> You can't actually form the bond unless both people want to, it's not enough just to kiss (though that is required).
> 
> You've got questions? I've got answers on tumblr at [SexyDexyNurse](https://sexydexynurse.tumblr.com/)


End file.
